Legislation is awaiting action in the Missouri Senate that would change the filing period for candidates planning to run in the state’s Democratic and Republican primaries in August.
The bill needs to be passed quickly if it’s going to be passed at all: Right now, the filing period is set to begin February 28th and end on March 27th. Several would-be candidacies for the State Senate are in limbo because the Senate District map approved last year by a six-judge panel was tossed out last month by the Missouri Supreme Court, and a new map hasn’t been approved yet. State Senator Mike Parson (R, Bolivar) says the bill he’s sponsoring would move the filing period back by one month.
“I don’t think there’s any choice but to try to move this, if we want to try to get a redistricting map done here in the state of Missouri, and to me that’s the ultimate goal is to get that done," Parson said. "I don’t want that to be settled in the (state) courts or the federal courts.”
Meanwhile, a Cole County judge is expected to rule Tuesday on a lawsuit challenging the State House district map.
